1: Clinical aspects of cardiovascular risk factors

Question 1

What is the most common cause of premature death?

Answer 1

Coronary heart disease

Question 2

Death before the age of 75 years is also known as…

Answer 2

premature death.

Question 3

Atherosclerosis is characterised by the build-up of ___ within the arteries.

Answer 3

plaque

Question 4

What is atherosclerotic plaque made up of?

Answer 4

Fats

Cholesterol

Cellular debris

Calcium

Fibrin

Question 5

What may occur following an arterial blockage caused by atheroscleorosis?

Answer 5

Heart attack

Stroke

Question 6

What triggers the formation of atherosclerotic plaques?

Answer 6

Endothelial damage

Question 7

What are macrophages called after they take up LDL-C in the subendothelial space?

Answer 7

Foam cells

Question 8

What is thrombosis?

Answer 8

Formation of a blood clot within a blood vessel, blocking it

Question 9

What is dyslipidaemia?

Answer 9

High LDL (the bad one)

Low HDL (the good one)

High triglycerides

Question 10

Which type of cholesterol is associated with atherosclerosis?

Answer 10

LDL

Question 11

Apart from LDL and HDL, which other type of fatty substance is associated with CVD?

Answer 11

Triglycerides

Question 12

Which type of cholesterol has a protective effect for CVD?

Answer 12

HDL

Question 13

Cholesterol is required for…

Answer 13

cell walls.

Question 14

What is the target cholesterol level for treatment of disease?

Answer 14

5.0 mmol/L

Question 15

Total cholesterol is a modifiable/non-modifiable CVD risk factor.

Answer 15

modifiable

Question 16

Which class of drug is used to reduce total & LDL cholesterol?

Answer 16

Statins

Question 17

What enzyme does a statin inhibit?

Answer 17

HMG-CoA reductase

Question 18

At what total cholesterol level does your risk of CVD significantly increase?

Answer 18

6.5+ mmol/L

Question 19

Name a few clinical signs associated with high cholesterol levels.

Answer 19

Fat in blood samples

Xanthelasma (eyes)

Tendon xanthoma

Tuberous xanthoma

Eruptive xanthoma

Question 20

Pregnant women can commonly develop __.

Answer 20

hypertension

Question 21

90% of hypertension cases have / don’t have an underlying cause.

Answer 21

don’t have

Question 22

Why can hypertension cause atherosclerosis?

Answer 22

1. High blood pressure puts strain (damage) on endothelial lining of artery
2. Arterial smooth muscle thickens - reduced blood flow
3. Plaque deposits further restrict blood flow

Question 23

Efficacy of hypertension drugs tends to be __-related and not dose-related

Answer 23

drug

Question 24

Which disease increases your chance of developing atherosclerosis?

Answer 24

Diabetes